


A New Society

by Canaryhowl



Category: Justice Society of America (Comics), Stargirl (TV 2020), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Justice Society of America (DCU), M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canaryhowl/pseuds/Canaryhowl
Summary: Courtney Whitmore is new to being a superhero. She experiences her first non-stepdad superhero team-up when she teams up with Shazam! And she might have a little crush (but he’s like thirty, so that’s out of the question).Billy Batson has grown up as a superhero. Now, he balances working part-time counseling superhuman teens with saving the world full-time as a Justice League member. Many of the kids who come through the center are just like Billy—alone, unwanted, foster kids, runaways. But he knows they can be heroes.When a young meta dies trying to be a superhero, the teen heroes and the Justice League clash again. Billy wants to return to the days when superheroes all got along. His idea—a multigenerational team, a new Justice Society with members of all ages.Unfortunately, the bad guys have a similar idea, and the Injustice Society will rise again.
Relationships: Billy Batson/Courtney Whitmore, Hank King Jr./Todd Rice
Comments: 13
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place post-season 3 for Young Justice, season 1 for Stargirl.
> 
> Note: This story features the Stargirl from the 2020 TV show on DC Universe and the CW. I know Courtney has appeared in Young Justice already in a small role, but that version of the character will not appear in this story. This is the Courtney from the Stargirl TV show.
> 
> If you aren’t familiar with the other characters in this story, they are mostly from DC Comics’ Infinity Inc. and JSA, with some additional Teen Titans characters to round out the cast. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize their names because anyone not specifically from Young Justice or Stargirl will be introduced since this is a crossover between Young Justice and Stargirl.

Chapter 1: Special

Blue Valley

Blue Valley was quiet at night, when there weren’t any supervillains attacking.

Courtney sat on the roof of a building that overlooked the dark, empty streets of Blue Valley. She smiled down at her phone screen. She still texted her friends back home in California, but there was someone new she’d been texting.

Only a week into being Stargirl, she’d had a superhero team-up. With someone other than her stepdad, Pat.

None other that Captain “Shazam” Marvel had arrived in Blue Valley, looking all superheroic and super-muscular in his bright red costume and flowing cape. Together, Shazam and Stargirl had defeated some kind of telepathic worm thing and freed Pat from a cocoon. It had all been very strange, and then, just as quickly as he had arrived, Shazam had left, and everything went back to normal, as normal as Blue Valley had ever been since she moved there.

Except for the fact that Courtney now had Shazam’s number.

In a vacuum, it wouldn’t be that weird. They were both superheroes and now they could easily get in contact. But he was texting her constantly, and he was like thirty. And Courtney was finding herself looking forward to each message and responding right away.

By text, Shazam didn’t sound like a thirty-year-old man. He’d keyed himself into her phone as “Billy Batson,” some kind of generic alias, obviously, and it was only the name at the top of the screen that told her it was the same person she’d met. If Courtney didn’t know any better, she’d think he was her age. He seemed to understand all of the references she peppered into her texts and even commiserated when she complained about Pat treating her like a kid.

She hopped onto the Cosmic Staff and soared through town on her way back to the house.

Banners had been hung all over town. “Blue Valley’s very own superhero.” And posters accompanied the banners, showing Blue Valley’s very own superhero in all her red-costumed glory. It was funny because Blue Valley already had a bona fide superhero in town—Stargirl (and 2 superheroes if you counted STRIPE).

Apparently some Blue Valley native had joined Lex Luthor’s Infinity Inc group, and the whole town was officially obsessed. Suddenly they were preparing a grand welcome home celebration for this hero. It was like the whole town had suddenly forgotten how much they loved Stargirl, and all they could think of was this other girl.

Courtney chalked it up to a short attention span. Hopefully it wasn’t something more malicious.

* * *

Taos

Eighteen-year-old Billy Batson was a counselor at the Meta-Human Youth Center in Taos. He liked it more than he’d expected, and not just because the kids at the center reminded him a lot of himself. A lot of the kids were runaways, coming from broken homes or foster families like himself. Only a few were there with the support of their families and had a home to return to once their powers were under control.

He liked it because he could witness the moment the kids exhibited control over their powers for the first time. There was nothing better than watching them go from thinking they were a menace to thinking they could become superheroes.

Billy smiled at the text he had just received from his newest superhero friend—Stargirl—and quickly texted back, describing how he was feeling a little nervous about taking on a more involved role at the center. She texted back almost immediately, sending him words of encouragement.

Billy was set to give orientation to a couple of special cases—kids whose powers were too dangerous or volatile to lump in with the rest. He chewed on his lip as he flipped through their intake papers.

Isaiah (aka Hot Spot) had power over heat and had a few arson charges to his name. Grant (aka Damage) had immeasurable explosive powers and also had a number of arson charges to his nam (and was banned from the entire state of Georgia). The third file was the thinnest and belonged to Todd, who had some kind of shadow power which was tentatively noted to be similar to the Shade’s power set.

These three would be among the most powerful metas at the youth center. It unsettled Billy in a way, that their files said “watch carefully,” like they weren’t kids but specimens on a lab dish.

Billy closed the files and mentally prepared himself to meet the three kids. His own experience and the training he’d been given told him that moments like these were imperative in deciding whether someone would take a heroic path or a darker one.

Ed knocked on the door and led in three boys.

Isaiah was tall and well-built at sixteen. The other two boys were fifteen. Grant was average height but muscular and had unkempt brown hair, while Todd was slight, still waiting on that growth spurt.

They sat in a circle, and Grant turned the chair around and straddled it so he could rest his arms on the headrest and glare at Billy.

“I hope you three are settling in,” Billy said.

No one said anything, but Todd nodded.

“I’m Billy, one of the counselors here at the youth center. I’m going to help you with your orientation and getting settled living with other people with powers.” He never specifically mentioned to the kids at the center whether he had powers or not, preferring to keep his secret identity—well, secret.

“I know that you may come from backgrounds where you were rejected for having powers. I personally grew up in foster care. I was lucky to have foster parents that really cared for me, but I know that’s not always the case for other people.”

“How long do we have to stay here?” Grant asked.

Billy glanced at the other two teens, who seemed confused by the question. Under normal circumstances, no one would be forced to stay at their center against their will. It wasn’t a prison. It was a safe haven. But for Grant, it was technically a part of his parole agreement that he stay at the center at least until he turned eighteen.

“Well, for your specific circumstances, you’re supposed to stay here until you turn eighteen. For everyone else, they can come and go as is best for them.”

“What are these ‘specific circumstances’?” Isaiah asked, eyeing Grant.

Grant froze. “None of your business.”

Billy continued, “We have teachers on site, and from 8 to 2 you’ll have normal classroom instruction. From 2 to 4, there will be training on using your powers, and from 4 to 6, there will be optional combat training for those on the superhero training path.” Billy checked his notes. “Oh wait, actually, for you three, there will be mandatory training at that time.”

“Because we’re a threat?” Grant asked, leaning forward on the chair.

Todd swallowed audibly and sank lower in his seat. A shadow shifted in the periphery of Billy’s vision. Billy had noticed that Todd hadn’t said a word since entering the room and was glad that he’d finally reacted to something even if it was in discomfort.

“Forget all that training stuff,” Isaiah said. “Can we get our powers taken away? I didn’t ask for these powers.” His hand flashed red, just for a moment, but long enough for the temperature in the room to go up a degree or two.

“I know you may feel like you’ll never live a normal life,” Billy said, “but whether you were experimented on, or got your powers in an accident, or were gifted them by a wizard, you can still—”

“I was born with my powers,” Grant said.

At that, Billy fumbled with the folders in his hands but managed to regain his grip before they scattered to the ground along with all their contents.

He couldn’t remember that fact in Grant’s file. As far as Billy knew, the only people to be born with superpowers were those who were the children of metas or otherwise powered people. For example, Zatanna, the Flash’s Tornado Twins, or Black Lightning’s girls.

One of Grant’s parents could have been a minor superhero or a non-superhero meta. But considering the sheer potential of Grant’s powers, it also was possible that Grant was the unknown child of a major player.

“Same,” said Todd.

Grant turned to look at Todd for the first time. “I’ve never met anyone who was born with powers like me. Were your parents metas?” Grant asked.

Todd shrugged. “Adopted.”

“Same,” Grant said. “But I know who my parents were. Well, I don’t exactly who they were, like what their names were and stuff, just that my dad was a deadbeat Justice Society member who didn’t give a shit about his son.”

“Damn,” Isaiah said, “and I thought I had it bad being abducted by aliens.”


	2. Chapter 2

Taos

Grant dumped the contents of his duffle bag onto the bed. He and the others were moving from the intake rooms in the left wing of the facility to the more long-term dorms.

“Why would they make three of the most dangerous metas in this place share a room?” Grant mused.

“Probably want to contain the damage,” Isaiah said. He was unpacking his suitcase into the dresser at the foot of his bed.

Todd was sitting cross-legged on his bed watching the other two unpack. All he had was a trash bag of clothes provided by donations to the center, and that was all unpacked already.

“At least you two can leave whenever,” Grant said, “I’m stuck here for three years at least.” He kicked the dresser drawer shut so harshly, the entire dresser shuddered.

“I understand if you don’t want to live with someone like me,” Todd said, turning away.

“What do you mean, someone like you?” Isaiah asked. “We’re all metas.”

Todd scratched the side of face.

There was a knock at the door and a girl popped in. “I have class schedules for Grant and Todd.”

“Thanks,” Grant said, grabbing the two slips of paper and taking a look before handing one to Todd. “I guess they forgot about you, Isaiah.”

Isaiah shook his head. “I already graduated from high school, so no schedule for me. I was right about to start college, actually, when the aliens happened.”

“What? I thought you were sixteen.”

“I am.”

“Shit, we’ve got a regular boy genius here,” Grant said.

“No! Stop it!” Todd said, grabbing his knees and holding them tight to his body.

“I was just teasing,” Grant said. “Isaiah knows that. Right, Isaiah?”

But Isaiah was no longer looking at Grant. Instead, he was looking at the shadows along the walls that were starting to flicker in and out despite the light bulbs remaining consistently bright.

“Todd?” Isaiah said, laying a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder.

Todd flinched away from Isaiah’s touch.

Isaiah retracted his hand, as if scalded, even though he was usually the one to do the scalding.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean... Apparently I’m such a freak I can’t pretend to be normal even for five seconds.”

And then the shadows flowed around Todd, and he disappeared like he was never there.

“Well,” Grant said, “that was dramatic.”


	3. Chapter 3

Blue Valley

If Courtney’s nemesis was Brainwave, it was only because he had been the first supervillain she’d ever encountered. Her true nemesis was her step-brother, Mike.

It was Saturday night. Pat had ordered in pizza, and Courtney, her mom, and Mike were gathered around the kitchen table to eat slices of pepperoni pizza and play Monopoly. Courtney hadn’t seen the game in years, but her mom had somehow unearthed it from one of the moving boxes and decided it would be the perfect family bonding activity. It was a grave miscalculation. Monopoly only ever tore families apart; it never brought them closer together.

As Courtney watched with disdain, Mike plucked yet another hotel from the box and plopped it onto Park Place. There were so many hotels on the property now that they were beginning to overflow onto neighboring properties. There Mike was, with stacks of Monopoly money beginning to pile up in front of him, sitting closest to the box that held the money. Needless to say, Courtney suspected foul play.

After what seemed like forever, Mike ended his turn and placed the dice in the center of the table.

“Hey Courtney, who’s Billy?” Mike asked, smiling all innocently, before taking a bite of pizza.

Courtney’s hand stilled as she reached for the dice to begin her turn.

“Um, Billy?” she said. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“You’ve been texting him all the time.”

Courtney’s mom raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her daughter.

Courtney crossed her arms. “Yeah, so?”

“Just asking.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know that? Have you been looking at my phone?”

“No!” Mike shifted in his chair. “Well, yes. But you left your phone on the table, and it kept vibrating like every two seconds, and I just wanted to shut it off, but then it was there, so I looked.” He took another bite of pizza and said between mouthfuls, “So, is he your boyfriend?” He dipped his chin and raised his eyebrows when he said ‘boyfriend’, like it was some kind of scandalous word.

Pat frowned at Mike, and Courtney thought Pat might defend her or at least reprimand Mike, but then Pat just shook his head at Mike and said, “Mike, please remember to chew with your mouth closed.”

So Courtney rolled her eyes and then rolled the dice. When she picked up her piece and counted out the spaces, she landed on Park Place, Mike’s dominion. He grinned and held out his hand in triumph as Courtney eyed her dwindling savings.

She was short the money. But she didn’t mind at all because at least losing meant that she could excuse herself from the game.

She stacked all of her money together and held it out to Mike, who reached for it but then seemed to think better of it. He flipped his wrist held out his hand, palm facing forward. His smile stretched even wider across his face.

“Wait! I’ll give you a one-time discount if you tell me about Billy.”

Mike and Pat and Courtney’s mom all stared at Courtney, waiting for her to say something.

“No, take the money.”

Courtney dropped the stack of money onto Mike’s stockpile, stood, and stalked off to her room.

A few minutes passed, and a knock sounded at the door.

“Yeah?” Courtney said, preparing herself for a lecture from her mom.

The door opened, just a crack at first, and then swung all the way open. Mike stood there, looking kind of lost. Courtney was reminded that this was new to him too. He’d never had a sister before.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She nodded.

He sat on the edge of Courtney’s bed and kicked at the ground. “Sorry,” he said. Pat must have sent him.

He lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling. Courtney lay down too.

“It’s okay,” Courtney found herself saying.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said things like that in front of our parents,” Mike said. ‘Our parents,’ he’d said. “Dad says I can get overexcited sometimes. I really was just trying to turn your phone off. I didn’t hack into your phone or read your messages or anything. I don’t want to be the annoying little brother or whatever.” He paused. “I only want to be medium annoying.”

Courtney laughed. “Fine by me. Medium annoying I can deal with.”

“Apology accepted?”

“Apology accepted.”

“So, who is Billy?”

What could Courtney say? That Billy was really a thirty-year-old superhero who’d she’d met during a superhero team up and now they were pen pals?

“Just a friend,” she said.

“Wait—” Mike said, flipping onto his stomach and staring at her, his eyes wide, “—is he a superhero? Tell me he’s a superhero.”

Courtney sat upright. “Do you know?” Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”

Mike scoffed. “Dad can’t keep a secret. You think I lived with the guy for twelve years and never found out that he used to be a superhero? Yeah right.” Mike tilted his head. “And then some new superhero shows up using his old partner’s stick thing? And she’s blonde and a teenager?”

Courtney blinked. She’d never realized how hard it would be to keep a secret identity.

“So, who is he? Robin? Blue Beetle? Ooh, Kid Flash?”

“Um...” Courtney said, thinking that this was a bit more than medium annoying. “Shazam,” she said, mostly to get him to shut up.

“Ooh, like ‘Captain Marvel’ Shazam? Cool!” He grinned and nodded emphatically. Then, he did a double take. “Wait, isn’t he like thirty?”

* * *

Taos

Billy led his three charges into the reinforced gym that served as a training ground.

The center’s newest initiative was to split trainees into squads to teach them teamwork alongside control over their powers. Each team was assigned a counselor as a mentor, and occasionally a superhero would stop by to spar and teach techniques for certain power sets.

Billy finished introducing Isaiah to his new teammates, Argent and Risk, and then took Grant and Todd across the room to where a group of teenagers was sitting on the bleachers.

“Hey Billy,” one of them said—Al. The boy was very noticeable, somehow even more noticeable than those with alien-like features. Even sitting down, it was easy to tell he was massive, at least seven feet tall with shocking red hair that was styled into a Mohawk.

“Hi guys. This is Grant and Todd. They’ll be joining your squad,” Billy said.

“Hey Grant, Todd,” Al said, standing up and wrapping his huge arms around the two boys, “welcome to Infinity Inc.” He released them after a moment. “Yeah, I know. Name’s taken. But we came up with the name first. And we’re not about to change it because of a bunch of total fakers.”

Al and the rest of the squad had in fact chosen the name before Luthor’s team. Unfortunately, the other Infinity Inc. had become way more famous.

“Al,” Norda, another member of the team, said, “Maybe we should change the name if it’s going to require an explanation every time.”

This boy was also very noticeable, but for another reason. He had distinctly bird-like features, from the beak on his face, to the wings on his back, to the talons where hands would be.

“We’re not changing our name, Norda.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s trademarked. Do you want Luthor to sue us?”

“Okay, Luthor’s not going to sue us. He doesn’t even know who we are. And I doubt he’d care even if he did know. Plenty of sports teams have the same name as each other, and it’s not like anyone cares about that.”

“Yeah, usually those sports teams are different sports though.” Grant rolled his eyes. “But it beats me why you would want such a crappy name.”

“Listen, Grant,” Al said approaching the other boy. Anyone, even someone as muscular as Grant, was dwarfed next to Al. “You don’t just get to come here and make fun of our team name, okay?”

Grant stepped forward, cracking his neck and getting in Al’s face.

The other members of Infinity Inc. had stopped whatever conversations they were having in the background and were watching the scene.

Before Grant could finish closing the gap, Billy placed a gentle hand on Grant’s shoulder and maneuvered between the two boys. Billy took a deep breath. As Shazam, he had the wisdom of Solomon. As Billy, he had the wisdom not to anger two superpowered teenagers.

Al towered over Billy, even more than he’d towered over Grant. The way Al looked down at Billy made Billy wonder if Al was using his size-changing powers to appear even more intimidating than usual. If so, Billy wasn’t about to let it work. He’d stood toe-to-toe with Black Adam, had faced off against the Monster Society of Evil, had battled the aliens of the Reach. Billy stood his ground and calmly eyed Al, and Al stared back, his glare faltering, and then backed away.

Billy exhaled sharply and turned to Grant and Todd. “I thought this squad would be a good fit for you because the members are all second generation superheroes,” Billy explained. “They’re not always like this,” he added when he noticed Todd’s hesitant gaze. What Billy really wanted to say was that they were not all like that. But he decided not to scare anyone off too soon.

“Let me introduce the rest of Infinity Inc,” he said, loudly enough for the other members of the team to hear and gather around.

“Lyta Trevor, Fury,” he pointed to a blonde girl, who smiled and waved back at them. “Daughter of the first Fury.”

“Hector Hall, Silver Scarab,” he pointed at a stern-looking young man with white-blond hair. “Son of Hawkman and Hawkwoman.”

“Norda Cantrell, Northwind,” he gestured at the bird-featured boy. “Godson of Hawkman and Hawkwoman.”

A scowl crossed Hector’s face at those words.

“Albert Rothstein, Nuklon,” Billy nodded to the massive teen. “Godson of the original Atom.”

“And Jenny Lynn Hayden, Jade,” Billy said, pointing to the final member of the team. “She’s...” he trailed off when Todd took a tentative step forward.

“Jenny?” Todd said.

“Todd...” Jenny said, pushing past Norda to stand mere inches from Todd. She had striking green skin and star-shaped birthmark on her palm.

“You’re real?” Todd asked.

At the same moment, Jenny reached forward to grab Todd’s hand. “I dreamed about you.”

Billy looked over to Grant, who shrugged.

Jenny pulled Todd into a hug. At first, Todd stiffened at Jenny’s touch, but then he closed his eyes and let her hug him.

Feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, Billy looked away.

When Jenny finally released Todd, it was like a switch had turned. Todd’s posture relaxed, and he even smiled.

For Billy, it was the first time he could remember seeing Todd smile.

“Guys, you know how I dreamed that I had a twin? Well, this is my twin brother, Todd Rice,” Jenny said, grinning from ear to ear.

The reaction of the rest of the team ranged from confusion to bafflement.

Hector shook his head. “What? How do you know that? Don’t you need a DNA test or something?”

Lyta elbowed Hector hard in the side, perhaps infusing a little bit of super strength into the nudge.

“Fine, fine,” Hector said, “welcome to the team.”

But the rest of the team seemed equally unconvinced.

“Seriously?” Al asked.

“Do you have some kind of twin telepathy?” Norda asked, tilting his head.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Grant asked, glancing around.

Jenny looked to Todd. “We do have a kind of twin telepathy,” Jenny said. “We can’t read each other’s mind or anything. It’s more like we can sense each other’s feelings, I would say. I can’t tell what Todd’s thinking, but I can tell that he’s here...” She paused. “And he’s happy.” Her lips formed a small smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Blue Valley

Beth had invited their whole lunch table to the parade Blue Valley was throwing in honor of Trajectory’s homecoming. Trajectory was a member of Luthor’s Infinity Inc., a speedster, and a Blue Valley native—just like the original Kid Flash before her, which a fun fact Courtney had just learned.

Beth, Yolanda, and Courtney were all there, standing near the back with only an obstructed view of the stage. Rick was a no-show—not at all surprising.

The mayor had handed Trajectory a key to the city, and now the teen superhero was standing at the podium delivering remarks. Courtney yawned. She couldn’t help it—she was tired from staying up late the night before, fighting crime.

“I grew up idolizing Kid Flash,” Trajectory said. “I wanted nothing more than to be Flash’s partner. I even joined Blue Valley’s chapter of the Flash Fan Club, founded by one of the best people I’ve ever known, the late Wally West. I fight in his honor.”

She paused for a moment as her words were met with applause.

Courtney leaned over to Beth. “Who’s Wally West?” Courtney asked.

“He was the best-liked person in Blue Valley,” Beth said, “The kind of guy who knew everyone by name, babysat all the kids, even helped old ladies cross the street. He died a couple of years ago in the alien invasion. He was only twenty-one.”

Beth looked away. It was clear that she’d known Wally. Based on his age, Beth could have been one of the kids he’d babysat.

A sudden crash interrupted Trajectory’s speech. A loud, primal roar came from somewhere behind Courtney. Slowly, Yolanda, Beth, and Courtney all turned to see that the source of the cry was a hulking zombie-like figure with chalk white skin and hair.

“Solomon Grundy,” the creature said, “born on a Monday...” His speech was slow, aggravatingly so, like someone had recorded normal speaking and slowed it down to a fraction of the speed.

Before Solomon Grundy could finish his sentence, Trajectory zipped up to the monster and unleashed a barrage of superspeed punches.

From what Courtney could tell, it was like punching a brick wall. But at superspeed. She could only imagine how much Trajectory’s hands hurt after that effort.

Grundy seemed mildly curious at the blur in front of him, but aside from a slight shift in facial expression, had no other reaction to the attack. If Courtney had her Cosmic Staff with her, she would join the battle, intervene in some way. But her staff was back at the house, and there was not much she could do as Courtney but call S.T.R.I.P.E., so she pulled out her phone and dialed.

When Trajectory paused to catch her breath—a rookie move, all things considered—Grundy reached out in a surprisingly quick motion and grabbed the speedster by the neck. Trajectory kicked and squirmed, but Grundy merely blinked, his grip holding steadfast. It was all so fast. Grundy squeezed, and there was a sickening crunch. Then, he let go, and Trajectory tumbled out of Grundy’s grasp and landed on the ground.

Grundy roared and smashed his fists into the pavement. Courtney dodged bits of concrete as she ran toward Trajectory, kneeling next to the fallen speedster.

A blur of yellow and red streaked toward them, and Kid Flash skidded to a stop before them.

“I’mtoolate,” he said, his words blurring together. He breathed out, kneeled onto the ground, and reached a gloved hand toward Trajectory. “Is she—”

“You take care of Grundy,” Courtney said, pointing toward the rampaging monster. “I’ll make sure she gets help.”

Kid Flash nodded and zipped toward Grundy. A moment later, S.T.R.I.P.E. landed and began firing rockets at the monster.

Trajectory’s eyes were glassy and unseeing behind her goggles. Courtney reached out a shaking hand and pressed her fingers against Trajectory’s neck. It felt unreal, like a scene out of a movie.

There was no pulse.

* * *

The Watchtower

Billy, in his superhero form as Shazam, arrived by Zeta beam to the Watchtower. Aquaman had called an emergency Justice League meeting.

“It is with great sadness that I call this meeting to order,” Kaldur said, standing before the gathered Justice League members. “As you all know, the superhero known as Trajectory was killed yesterday by Solomon Grundy. She was a member of Luthor’s Infinity Inc.”

Several members nodded or bowed their head in a moment of silence.

“It is now known that her real name was Eliza Harmon. She was sixteen.”

There were murmurs around the room at this.

“This is malpractice! Luthor should not be allowed to recruit children to fight his battles,” Captain Atom said.

“The same could be said of us,” Wonder Woman said.

“Well, maybe we should rethink that! Do you ever stop to think that maybe we’re just as bad as them?” Captain Atom responded.

“Quiet!” Kaldur said.

Everyone went silent.

“Kid Flash and Blue Valley’s local superhero known as S.T.R.I.P.E. engaged Grundy, but he managed to get away. We have a source who suggested to us that Luthor hired Grundy and orchestrated all of this to bolster his argument for increased oversight over underage superheroes. He wants the Outsiders shut down.”

“But how would that benefit him?” Rocket asked. “Wouldn’t this get his Infinity Inc. shut down too?”

“The Outsiders need to put out a statement as soon as possible,” Superman said.

“What is this going to mean for the kids at the youth center?” Zatanna asked.

Nightwing was leaning against the wall and watching contemplatively. He was the sole representative of the Team present at the moment.

“Um,” Shazam said, “can I speak?”

Shazam stood in front of dozens of impatient superheroes.

“I have some involvement at the Meta-Human Youth Center,” he said, keeping it vague. He was never sure exactly how many members knew about his secret and who among them knew or didn’t know. “And I’ve been thinking, for a while now actually, that it would be really helpful if we could establish a team that’s made up of members of all different ages and experience levels.”

He could tell he was starting to lose some of his audience members.

“It would give younger superheroes a chance to work alongside both each other and seasoned crime fighters! This could help out a lot of young superheroes who aren’t sidekicks, who don’t have a mentor to guide them on how to become a superhero,” Shazam said. “It would take kids like Trajectory and give them the guidance they need.”

Hawkman was nodding along to Shazam’s words, and Billy felt reinvigorated.

“I think the Team has had some of that,” Shazam continued, “as the original members have gotten older, some of them have stayed on the team or stayed involved in a more mentoring role.”

Nightwing gave Billy a nod of encouragement.

When Billy had been a kid, just ten years old, he had met the Team for the first time. Meeting other kid superheroes had changed his path for the better. He couldn’t imagine any other way.

“This team would be different,” Shazam explained. “It would be founded as a multigenerational team, a way to have superheroes young and old—and anywhere in between—on one team. It would be a new Justice Society.”

This caught the attention of the League members. Just as someone Nightwing’s age or Billy’s age had grown up admiring the Justice League, the older members of the League had grown up idolizing the Justice Society. The Golden Age Flash, Green Lantern, Wildcat, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hourman, Starman—the whole Society had birthed superheroes as they were known today.

Hawkman, Carter Hall, was the first to step forward. Billy didn’t know him very well. Hawkman had always come across as gruff, short-tempered, and aggressive. And not to judge, but Hawkman’s son Hector didn’t seem all that well-adjusted.

“Shiera and I would be interested,” Hawkman said. “After all, we were members of the original Justice Society... in a past life.”

Green Arrow scoffed audibly at that. It was well known throughout the League that Oliver Queen and Carter Hall did not get along. They were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and Carter’s general grumpiness just didn’t rub Ollie the right way. On top of that, Ollie was skeptical about the whole resurrection and destined lover thing the Hawks had going on.

So, when Black Canary stepped forward and said, “Sign me up too,” Green Arrow almost blew a casket.

“Pretty bird?” he said.

She glanced at him. “My mom was in the original JSA,” she said. “I know how important legacy is. I know how important the Justice Society is.”

The new Justice Society had its first four members—Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Black Canary, and Shazam. But Shazam had a fifth member in mind—Stargirl.


	5. Chapter 5

Taos

Courtney dismounted from the Cosmic Staff in a secluded spot just outside of the Meta-Human Youth Center. It had been a peaceful flight from Blue Valley.

Shazam had invited her. She was wearing her street clothes, just like Shazam had requested, but she had brought her Stargirl uniform along, just in case. She was glad her staff could collapse now, so she could slip it into the holster on her arm and no one would be the wiser.

As she walked toward the facility, she read Shazam’s last message again. He would be waiting in front of the entrance, wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. She had almost laughed when she first read the description of what he’d be wearing. It wasn’t like he wore a mask or anything. How hard could it be to find him?

She made her way to the entrance, looking for a broad-shouldered, six-foot-four man wearing a red jacket.

There were only a few people standing around the entrance. They were all teenagers around Courtney’s age, and none was anywhere near 6’4”.

She was about to look at her phone again to see if he was running late when she heard a voice call her name.

She looked around.

“Courtney!” the voice called again.

A boy was waving at her. He wasn’t much older than she was, and was maybe five-foot-ten with a slender, fit build. He approached, and when he got close enough, she saw that he had blue eyes and a bright smile—and was wearing a red jacket.

“Courtney, I’m glad you came,” he said.

He threw his arms up wide like he might hug her, but the joy in his eyes dimmed when Courtney’s confusion propelled her to take a half-step back instead of forward.

Courtney squinted at the boy’s face, but it wasn’t a familiar one. She reached down to pull out her phone and check her phone for new messages when a thought crept into her mind.

“Billy?” she asked.

“Yeah?” he said casually, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets.

“You could have warned me!”

“What?”

“I had no idea you were really my age! I thought you were thirty or something.”

“I’m confused.” He played with the end of his zipper. “I told you my real name.”

“What was I supposed to do, look you up? I thought it was an alias! My stepdad Pat told me never to tell another hero my real name until the second team up.”

It was one of the many rules to superhero team ups that Pat had taught her, including, but not limited to:

1\. If you don’t know what another hero is talking about, ask. Unless that hero is Batman. Then, pretend to understand so he doesn’t think you’re stupid.

2\. If it’s your villain you are teaming up to face, you buy lunch afterward. If your villain and their villain are teaming up, split the bill.

3\. Always fight another hero upon meeting to assert dominance. Note: She wasn’t entirely sure about that one. She might have misheard.

“You told me yours,” he said.

“Yeah, he told me that right after I told you,” she said, gesturing between Billy and herself as if that would explain the whole story.

They entered the building. It looked almost like a school inside, and she supposed it doubled as that for many of the metahumans inside.

They walked down a set of stairs, and he stopped and leaned against the railing and looked up at her. It reminded her of Blue Valley High and how the jocks would lean on the railings and chat up the cheerleaders. But it was more endearing when Billy did it.

“You really didn’t know?” he asked.

“No,” she said. When she looked at him now, she could see the resemblance. He looked like he could be Shazam’s son or younger cousin or something. She wondered if Shazam was what Billy would look like when he was that age.

“What were you—ten when you started?” she asked.

“Eight.”

And Pat was always saying Courtney was too young.

“What, do I have something on my face?” He wiped at his mouth.

Courtney realized she had a ridiculous grin on her face and dialed back the wattage.

“Here,” Billy said, grabbing her hand, “I’ll take you to the gym, introduce you to my friends...or, well, the future heroes I’m mentoring.”

When they got the gym, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and he looked down at their interlaced fingers and let go.

* * *

Blue Valley

With his father in a coma in the hospital, Henry was floundering.

At first, he thought things would be better without his dad. And they were, in the sense that his dad wasn’t there to hurl insults or make creepy comments. But everyone around Henry was treating him so carefully, telling him how sorry they were about his dad.

Henry was sick of people telling him how great his dad was. However great Henry King Sr. was as a neurosurgeon, he was nowhere near a good father. Henry hated being called “Junior,” and he hated having the same name as his dad.

Right now, Henry had the most massive headache—the kind that felt like it was encompassing his entire head. It was behind the eyes, behind the forehead, behind the ears even.

He couldn’t think. Everything around him sounded so loud—not just in his ears, but like it was reverberating inside his head. It was growing louder and louder and—

“Stop it!” he shouted, covering his ears.

Everyone in the classroom stopped what they were doing. The people around him were frozen in place, like robots whose batteries had petered out.

The aching in his head was still there, but it was fainter now.

He stood up, knocking over his chair. He expected the teacher to yell at him, but even she was frozen in place.

It was a freakish feeling, standing among a classroom of people who were inexplicably frozen in place.

He grabbed his bag and rushed out the door of the classroom. Class was in session, so there were only a few people in the hallways, but even they were frozen in place, some in mid-stride. He needed to put space between himself and this odd occurrence and nearly sprinted to the exit. Finally, the fresh air hit his face and he welcomed the freeing feeling of being outside. In another good sign, the people outside seemed to be moving, walking, and talking like normal.

He walked down the street until he got to The American Dream building. He hated the place and everything it stood for, looming over the town like it did. He was about to turn back and head home when he spotted a familiar figure on the grounds.

Cameron Mahkent—the son of one of the most influential men in Blue Valley—was dismounting his motorcycle. After removing his helmet, Cameron smirked in Henry’s direction, and Henry was oddly comforted by that derisive attitude. At least Cameron didn’t seem to be treating Henry any differently because of what happened to Henry’s dad.

Henry knew that his father and Cameron’s father were well acquainted, but he’d never quite understood how they could stand each other.

“Henry!” Cameron called out, in a voice that almost bordered on friendly.

“Cameron,” Henry said darkly, internally wishing that whatever had happened inside the school would repeat on Cameron Mahkent.

Cameron reached out and grabbed Henry by the elbow. Cameron’s grip wasn’t terribly strong, but a jolt of pain surged through Henry’s elbow.

“My dad,” Cameron said, “thinks you might be useful. I don’t see it.”

He released Henry and stalked off toward the entrance to The American Dream. Wincing, Henry looked down at his elbow. His skin there was tinged an odd gray, almost like an early stage of frostbite.

At that moment, Henry felt a strange sense of clarity. He had powers, it seemed. His father must have had powers. Cameron Mahkent had powers too. In a way, it explained everything, but it almost every other way, it seemed absurd. How many people in one small town could have superpowers?


End file.
